Toku Jounin: Tale of a Yamanaka
by Zinbuki-san
Summary: Yamanaka Ino is an 18 year old chuunin, one that's matured over the years because of hardships and friendships. Because of a new technique she developed, Tsunade sama asks to talk to her. Will Ino accept the offer of a lifetime? And why is Ibiki involved?
1. Tsunade Finds Out

OHMIYGAWD A fanfic based on Ino that DOESN'T have any InoShika or InoSasu pairings! So who _is_ she paired with?! Well, no one, as of yet. It may come eventually, though. Hold tight, people!

This fanfic takes place when Ino is 18, so she's not as annoying as she is when she's 12. Harrharr. I won't lie to you guys; I don't like Ino. At like, all. But I figured she'd be cool once she stopped Sasuke-fangirling and being all... ... ... infected with teenaged girl syndrome. So yeah.

As for her teeny tiny run-in with Sakura in this chapter; she DOES call her forehead-girl, but more out of habit than meanness... and she says it in her head. A demonstration of how much she - and Sakura - have grown.

Alright, now for the legal stuff; I obviously don't own Naruto, because... well, it isn't all senseless gore. Hurrhurr.

* * *

"Ano sa, Ino!" A familiar voice called. Ino spun, and saw that familiar face that belonged to that familiar voice.

"Eh? Oh, hey there, Shikamaru! What's up?" She smirked at him, and bit back a witty remark. Behind him stood three gennin. One was pulling the other's hair, while they, in turn, were clawing at the offender's face. A third hung in the back, yelling just as loudly as the first two, trying to get them to stop. The funniest part was, though, that they were arguing over something that Shikamaru had obviously done – and the jounin didn't seem to even care, let alone notice.

"I was just talkin' to Hokage-sama, she's been looking for you all day. You better get over there quick, she's getting antsy." He sighed. Ino stood, her blue eyes staring blankly for a moment. She was in a bit of shock… she was surprised that he hadn't said… "How troublesome." He muttered, as he turned to wander off. Well, there goes the shock she had suffered.

Ino stared at him as he wandered off, a spark of her admiration for him within. The eighteen-year-old boy – no, man – had been a jounin for a few years now, and had recently been assigned to teach a three-man gennin cell. He was the second youngest jounin in Konohagakure's history to be the teacher of a gennin team. This was mostly due to his sheer intelligence and strategic nature, but his kekkai genkai – the Nara clan's infamous shadow manipulation techniques – gave him that extra edge he needed to excel.

"Arigatou Shikamaru-kun!" She called after the retreating jounin with a wave and a smile. "See you later!" She didn't notice if he returned the good bye or not, for she was gone in the blink of an eye. She took off running down the street. She jumped up, and landed firmly – yet silently and gracefully – upon a shop's roof top. She brushed her long, golden-blonde bangs out of her peicing blue eyes, and continued her run towards the Hokage's tower off in the distance. The rooftops were much more convenient than the streets, and they weren't clogged with people.

When she jumped down back to the ground below, for the sole purpose of crossing a large gap that was un-jumpable (it was Konohagakure's main road), she noticed a friendly face. A friendly face, that is, that was framed with light pink hair.

* * *

Ino entered the impatient Hokage's office. Tsunade-sama was just opening her mouth to greet her, when another shinobi came in after the Yamanaka girl. It was none other than her previous apprentice, Haruno Sakura. "Ah, good morning, Ino-san, Sakura-san. I'm glad your both here, I needed to speak with you both."

Sakura looked surprised. She pointed to herself, her green eyes wide with curiosity. "Me too, Tsunade-sensei?"

The Hokage looked much younger than she actually was. When Ino had first met her, she looked to be about the same age as her assistant, Shizune. Speaking of Shizune… she greeted them heartily, with her usual wide smile. Ino nodded back respectfully. Shizune was gaining wrinkles around her eyes, and her once raven-coloured locks were beginning to grey. Ino held back a smirk – those greys were probably Tsunade's fault. Now, Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, was my older than Shizune – much, _much_ older. However, the beautiful sannin still seemed to look about twenty.

"Hai, you too, Sakura-san." She responded with a nod. She folded her hands, and put them on her desk. "I was going to wait until tomorrow, but now that you're here…" she trailed off. "Shizune, Ino, could you both please wait out side?"

Ino's eyes widened curiously. What could the Hokage possibly have to tell Forehead-girl that Ino couldn't get in on? Hell, was it so bad that even the Hokage's best friend and assistant couldn't witness it? Either way, Ino merely bowed, and turned towards the door. She pulled the door open and waited for Shizune, who was hauling along, in her arms, a sleeping Tonton. Once the medical-nin was out the door, Ino followed. The elaborate office door clicked shut behind her, and she sighed. She wandered across the hall to sit on some chairs that were specifically meant for the two purposes that Ino intended to fill – sitting, and waiting.

* * *

"Are… are you kidding, Godaime-sama?! I'm… I'm just a chuunin, you know that?" Sakura gasped, her green eyes wide in surprise.

Tsunade gave her a crooked grin. "Hai, I'm serious. I'm having enough trouble managing things here, let alone at the hospital. Obviously, you'll be promoted to a jounin just for this… besides, a trust-worthy source recommended you."

Sakura's brow furrowed in thought. "Trustworthy… source?" who would recommend her for something so huge? It had to be someone close to Tsuande, for the Hokage to even consider it.

Tsuande grinned again, then leaned back in her big chair. "I agreed with him readily, too. After all, I didn't spend all that time training you for nothing. Your skills as a medical-nin are of about the same calibre of mine, or so I've heard." Tsunade, of course, was way too busy to have been able to train Sakura in the last two years, and in turn too busy to see how Sakura had been progressing over this time. In fact, she only knew of Sakura's skill from the fact that the kunoichi had just returned from a high-ranked mission, with all her team-mates nearly scratch-less. Another point was the source himself… if Tsunade didn't accept his request to promote Sakura to such a high rank, he'd never let her hear the end of it.

"Who was it?" Sakura asked, her brow furrowed. She was determined to find out.

Tsunade seemed taken aback by the question, but only for a moment. She hadn't seen Sakura be so direct since the pink-haired girl had asked her for training. Her expression melted into a soft smile. "Naruto-kun, of course."

"N-Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked, barely believing it.

Tsunade merely nodded. "So do you want the job or not? If you take it, you will be the head of Konohagakure's medical teams. It will be up to you to run the hospital, and assign other medical-nin to teams and sometimes you even get to give them rescue missions. You'll be working directly under me…"

Before she could finish, Sakura's gloved hands came down hard on the oak-wood desk. "I'll do it!" Determination had hardened the teenaged girl's voice. Ah, so it was decided then.

"Good," Tsunade smiled that crooked, scheming smile of hers. "Come see me tomorrow, and I'll show you how to do it. Now, go get the Yamanaka girl."

Sakura bowed. "Arigatou, Tsuande-sensei!" she turned and fled to the door, and heaved it open with ease. She vanished into the hall, and a mild "Ano sa, Ino, Hokage-sama wants to see you now…" echoing into Tsunade's office just before the door clicked shut.

* * *

Tsunade watched her over-decorated office door swing open again. A blonde-haired, blue-eyed, purple-clad woman entered. Yamanaka Ino, was her name, and her Konoha hitai-ate was strapped proudly around her middle, hanging below her exposed belly button.

"Tsunade-sama," she greeted, with a bow.

Tsunade smiled softly. "Don't worry about being formal, Ino-san." Ino nodded, and visibly relaxed.

"You were looking for me?"

Tsunade sorted. "Yeah, for a good half a day. You're hard to track down, Ino." This was true – while Ino moved around a lot, and was pretty hard to find, whenever she was found she seemed to come to wherever she was bid to go with only the speed of a Konoha shinobi.

Ino grinned a wide, goofy grin, and rubbed the back of her head, causing her rather low ponytail to flop somewhat. "Heheh, yeah, sorry about that."

The blonde Hokage sighed. "That's alright. Now, down to business. I've been told… by my… "sources"… that you've been developing a new technique. A variation of the Mind Transfer, correct?"

"Eh?" Ino blinked. How did she find out…? "Chouji told, didn't he?" She asked, somewhat glumly. Her eyebrows lowered, and an ominous look came into her eye. It was supposed to be a secret, and he had told! Even Shikamaru didn't know about it! Hell, her own _mother_ didn't know about it! Chouji only knew in the first place because she had actually tested it out on him. And she only did that because she thought he wouldn't tattle on her….

"Don't get mad," Tsunade calmed her, waving her hand in a dismissive manner. "There had been a rumour you were doing more training than usual, even more than before, when you had the chuunin exams to look forward to."

Ino winced. Crap, she never thought any one would catch on to that. The sannin continued. "When I found that out, all it took was a free all-you-can-eat buffet for that Akimichi boy, and he told me everything."

Suddenly, her humour dropped. She leaned forwards onto her desk, and rested her mouth against her folded hands. Her voice became muffled, but her next question was clear as Ino's eyes. "However, he wouldn't spill what the technique was meant to do... all Chouji-kun would reveal was that it was a variation of the Mind Transfer… is this true?"

Ino nodded.

"So basically, you and only you would be able to do this technique, correct?"

Ino winced. Previously, her father would have been included in that count, but a year and a half ago he had met a somewhat unfortunate end. He died on a mission, and by sheer accident. Shikamaru and Chouji's fathers had seen to it, though, that their comrade did not go un-avenged. He went the way he had always wanted to go. She stood there for a moment in silence. Tsunade had forgotten that this was a soft spot with the girl, a soft spot that caused her to mature rapidly… so she only sat in silence and waiting, not wanting to take that point any further. Slowly, Ino nodded. Her eyes still seemed so far off… but the Hokage continued.

"What does this technique do… or rather, as it's still a work in progress, what is it's implied purpose?"

Ino thought for a moment on whether or not she should tell the sannin. Secrecy gave way to the powers of logic and the issue of rank, and Ino revealed to her leader.

"It's kind of like the Mind Transfer technique… only…" she wriggled for a moment, considering how to put it into words. "Only, when I go into my target's body, I don't take the place of their mind. I… I kind of… meld with it, I guess."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. She wasn't following. Ino sighed. "You see, with this technique, the way it's supposed to work is… well, it has the same properties of the Mind Transfer. However, when I enter my opponent's body my mind doesn't block theirs out. They can't move their body, but their mind still has mental function, just like the Mind Transfer. This time though, my mind… well… I guess I could say I intrude their minds as well as their bodies. I haven't perfected it yet, but I can read emotions and memories, but as it stands, only traces. Once I have it all worked out, I plan on being able to read memories clearly, along with current thoughts."

"Basically…" Tsunade said, apparently deep in thought, "It's a jutsu used to measure your opponent, to learn their motives and their skills, and even possibly predict what actions they may take in the near future?" She asked. Her question was rhetorical – after all, she was Tsunade! The drop-dead gorgeous sannin, Hokage, and medical-nin extrodinare!

"… … …" Ino stood silently for a moment. "…No." Her head shook. "That's not it at all, but that is an added bonus.

Had this been in the anime, there would have been that moment when the one who just became so dastardly wrong would turn to concrete, their face embedded with a permanent jaw-drop, and then they would have done the anime-crumble – complete with blue gloom lines and a dark blue background. However, this is not the anime.

So instead, Tsunade just seemed to be very taken aback. "N… n-no?" She stammered.

Ino looked down, and placed a hand to her chin in thought. "It's for information, more than anything. As long as the target knows or remembers something, I'd have complete access to it."

Tsunade was still irked she had been wrong, but she nodded. "Sounds…"

"Dangerous?" Ino asked.

Tsunade grinned. "That's another word for it, yes. My intended word was "fun", however."

Ino's smile slowly grew. Having the Hokage's approval to invent – or rather, complete the invention of a new technique was a good thing, a very good thing.

"Tell me," the Hokage sighed after a minute, as she rose to her feet. She leaned on her desk and looked Ino in the eye. "What's the purpose in creating such a jutsu?"

Ino thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. Her answer didn't lie – she had no idea how she thought of it, or even why. "I suppose it would make life easier and save time on interrogation. Also, chances are the information would be much more correct."

"Isn't it a dangerous technique, though, like you had said?" Tsunade questioned. Ino could tell she was being tested, but persisted to come up with the best answers she could, anyway.

"I would assume so… but you forget, Tsunade-sama…" Ino grinned, and mimicked the Hokage's lean on the table. She was face to face with Tsunade now, staring the Hokage down. Her grin only widened. "I'm the only one that can do it."

They stood for a moment more, and imaginary dramatic music played in the background… 'cause it's a dramatic moment. Yeah. Finally, Tsunade grinned, then pulled back and crossed her arms. She sighed. "Yamanaka Ino, I approve of your new technique. Also…" her face faded to an unreadable expression. "Please stop by tomorrow morning. You might as well come when Sakura does. I think I have an idea for you, Yamanaka-san. An idea you might like…" the Hokage trailed off, then wandered over to the window. "You're dismissed."

Ino backed away from the desk and bowed stiffly. Curiosity gnawed at her mind. She wasn't even at the door yet, and she already felt maddened by wondering just what it was the Fifth Hokage had in store for her.

* * *

Alright people! I'm not gonna force you to review, but don't be afraid to drop me a line and tell me what you think of it. I didn't spend three hours writing this, then accidentally kick the plug out of my comupter (without saving... errr...) and then re-write it all again (the first version was better, but meh, this works too.) within a span of five hours.

So, for the love of GOD (or Naruto... or... Shino... or whichever character you idolize) PLEASE at least let me know if it's worth the pains of continuing!


	2. Morino Ibiki and a Delectable Dinner

Again, firends; I don't like Ino XD

BUT OMG _**IBIKI**_. XD

This chapter was intended to have more stuff happen, but eerrrr... I cram in TOO much detial and all the plans I had for this chapter that didn't make it will either be scrapped (Drunken Kiba, RIP) or included in the next chapter (Shikamaru's dad! Hoorah!)

So here's chapter two, and I'm sory that it took so long to get up. Forgive meeee!

Naruto and his awesome orange-ness will never ever belong to me. Come, let us mope.

* * *

Chapter 2: Morino Ibiki

"What's wrong, Ibiki-san?" Tsunade asked, in a tone that Ibiki could have sworn was mocking him. Red-orange light filtered in the room, tingeing the woman's hair a dusky crimson, where it touched it. The Fifth Hokage tilted the slender bottle that contained her favourite past-time. A white, opaque liquid spilled out into a small sake dish. She offered it to a rather grumpy Ibiki, who declined with a shake of his scarred head.

She merely shrugged at his decline, and then proceeded to down the treasured sake quickly. She set the empty cup down – none too gently, one might add – on her desk. "So tell me," she asked again, annoyed at his lack of response, "What's wrong?"

The large bear of a man shuffled his weight from foot to foot in obvious displeasure. His hands remained deep in the pockets of his long, black, sleeveless coat. Then, his deep voice rumbled. "I'm afraid I can't agree to this, Godaime-sama. You may see some potential in this, but I'm afraid…" his brow furrowed, "…I cannot."

"Oh?" Tsunade asked, leaning her head on her hands. She fixed the toku jounin with an intense, level stare, her brown eyes refusing to blink, refusing to waver. "…And why not?"

Her prodding made the serious man scowl. He closed his eyes, and explained blandly, "This predicament would not suit someone like that. In fact, something like this is meant for the kind of soul that lives a life completely different from that."

'_Tch, he's stubborn.' _Tsunade scoffed silently. "Ibiki, your reasons are lacking. As of yet, my offer is still but a question. If you continue to childishly persist like this…" – she paused to pour herself some sake – "…then I'll have to turn it into an order. That's unless you can prove to me that she's not suited for the job, of course." She smiled smugly, and swigged all of the sake in the little cup.

Ibiki's face hardened into an unreadable mask. "For starters, she's Konoha's biggest gossip. She's more interested in a good story than cold, hard facts."

"Hn, then, as such a renowned '**gossip**', don't you think she'd be able to worm out any details or facts, form just about anyone? Would she not have the ability to find exactly what she's looking for… possibly more?"

The proud Morino Ibiki pretended to ignore the rhetorical questions, and continued on. "Her specialty is in the field of defensive tactics and counter attacks." He pulled a hand out of his pocket and roughly jabbed the single, lonesome paper on the Hokage's oak desk with his pointer finger. The familiar visage of a ninja file stared up at them. Its content aided Ibiki's stressed point. "That is of no use to me, or the rest of my small department. Those skills have absolutely no necessity in this field!"

"That may be true, but as such she has learned to read her opponent. She can tell what they're thinking or planning – her skills at reading body language are what her life often relies on. She knows what to react to what, to let a situation play into her hands. If it isn't a necessity, it sure as hell makes a good bonus." Ibiki opened his mouth to protest, but Tsunade continued, cutting off his chance to speak. "Her specialty is also in the field of enemy manipulation, in case you've forgotten."

The man flinched, and thought for a moment longer. "Based on her personality and other varying skills," he spoke slowly and deliberately, as if watching where he stepped in this conversation. "…and recent events in her life… this would only prove to be against her. I doubt her current mentality would allow her to do anything we'll need her to do."

The sannin sighed, and cupped her youthful face in her hands. "I think you would find differently, Ibiki-san. She may not do the job the way others in your department do, but she's like you – she doesn't need a knife or a toolkit to find out what she wants." A grin played on her lips. "Plus, there's the matter of a certain kekkai genkai."

Ibiki stood still and silent for several long moments. He grinned his usual tight-lipped, lopsided grin.

Tsunade chuckled, realization dawning on her. "So you were testing me, eh? You were sure all along… you just wanted to know how determined I was about this."

Ibiki nodded. "Like always, Hokage-sama, you held strong. Comforting." He snorted good-naturedly.

Tsunade chuckled again. "Now if only the same thing would come true about my luck with gambling."

The toku jounin before her grinned, and turned to leave. "Well, Tsunade-sama, I'll be in contact with you. Let me know, however, if Ino-san decides before I see you next."

* * *

"Hey, Chouji, slow it down a little… if you're not careful you'll choke again." Shikamaru warned, casting his friend a raised-eyebrow glance. 

Ino sighed wistfully. She was much older and much more mature than she had been years ago, but each time she went out for barbeque supper with Shikamaru and Chouji she couldn't help but feel a mix of jealous and disgust towards her larger team mate.

"Chouji-kun, Shikamaru is right! Last time we had to drag you to the hospital." She scolded. Her arms were crossed and on the table, supporting the weight of her torso. Chouji stuffing his face to her right, and Shikamaru was relaxing across from her – their usual seating arrangement. Ino sighed again. She was disgusted because he could cram his face so much and let himself get – or rather, _stay_ so fat. She was jealous, because he was carefree about his diet, and he could whatever he wanted whenever he wanted (and hell, he did). Well, Ino had to admit, she had loosened up a little since she was just a gennin. Back then, she was strict about dieting. Now, however, she cared much less. It didn't matter if she lost weight, it was more or less the issue of eating healthy and making sure her body was in top physical condition. After all, she had let go of her Sasuke-worshipping, and with the freedom of crush-less-ness she found the freedom of doing things only for yourself. She didn't worry _as_ much about clothes (though she still tried to keep herself looking presentable!), or her hair (the chunin exam fight against Sakura had cleaned that up).

She placed a piece of beef on the barbeque, and shook her chopsticks gently at Chouji. "Alright, listen up, everything on that side is yours. This side belongs to me and Shikamaru." She glared at him, indicating the third of the center-table grill that the two smaller teammates were to share. "Cross it…" she twirled her chopsticks expertly in her hands, then stabbed down violently on her piece of beef. Their pierced it instantly, sending a little spurt of grease up. "…and you won't be able to use chopsticks for a while." Her ice-blue gaze seemed dark and menacing, and Chouji gulped.

Suddenly, she switched back to sweet, innocent, mature Ino. "So, how was your week, you two?" She smiled gently, and helped herself to some of the now-cooked meat on her _clearly_ designated portion of the barbeque.

Shikamaru, who was used to Ino's moodswings and threats on Chouiji, acted like nothing had taken place. After all, it happened so much, that practically nothing had occurred just now. "Ah, well, my gennin team is finally learning the difference between being teammates and being comrades." He leaned onto the table. Shikamaru hadn't changed much over the years; he still wore his green shinobi vest, and the dark blue clothes underneath. His Konoha plate was still on his arm, and his brown hair was still back in that high ponytail. He still had that bothered look on his face, and this time with good purpose. "They're still a drag, though." He sighed.

Ino nodded. "I suppose they're learning, though. Remember, it took us a good few weeks before we got along." She chomped down on a piece of beef; the juicy meat took over her sense of taste. Ah, it was so good!

"Hn, you mean…" Chouji said, between gulps of food, "…that it took us a good few weeks to stop yelling at each other to shut the hell up." This brought a chuckle out of Ino and a smirk from Shikamaru. Though they still had their arguments, they had been working well together for years now. "Well, I had a solo mission this week." He said, changing the topic. He closed his eyes and thoughtfully chewed on some tasty, roasted cattle flesh.

"Oh? How'd that go?" Shikamaru asked. It wasn't often that a jounin of Chouji's… raw power and brutal calibre got a solo mission.

The large 18 year old patted his belly joyfully. "Nhnn," he nodded, a smirk lighting his face. He stretched in contentment; it had been a good meal. He was decked out in the traditional Akimichi clothing, and his brown hair was rather shaggy and had grown out over the past few years. "It was a nice break. Some farmers lost a work horse to a leg disease, and needed some help with some last-minute grain loads."

"So, let me get this straight," Ino said, her eyes wide, "You pulled a grain buggy?"

Chouji nodded. "Hai, I did. It wasn't as heavy as it looked." He seemed pleased with himself. Ino and Shikamaru, however, were staring at him completely awestruck. Grain buggies were heavy all on their own, but with a full load? That was insane! Teams of four to six work horses were usually used to pull those!

Shikamaru shook his head and leaned back. "You really have been taking training hard these past few months, haven't you?"

Chouji nodded proudly.

Ino grinned, and slugged him gently on the shoulder. "Ah, it's about time you realized the value of hard work. It's no wonder you got promoted to jounin last month!"

"Eh, speaking of that," Shikamaru interrupted her little encouraging speech, "When are you going to take the jounin exam, Ino? The only chunin left out of our batch from the academy are you and Naruto since Sakura got promoted yesterday, and Naruto's only one because he's always off somewhere and misses the opportunities."

Ino sighed. "I know, I know. But Tsunade-sama… er…" '_Crap, I said too much.' _Ino added as an after thought, sinking back into her seat. A slight pink hue dusted her cheeks, and she waved her hand dismissively. "Ah, just forget about it!" She said nervously. She didn't want to tell them yet, in case it didn't turn out to be a promotion.

"But Tsunade-sama…?" Chouji and Shikamaru said at the same time, fixing her with a withering stare.

Ino sighed. She slumped onto the table, her section of blonde bangs flopped humorously against her face. "Alright, alright, I had a meeting with Tsunade-sama this morning…" Shikamaru nodded, remembering that he was the one who relayed the message to her. Chouji seemed to grow a little nervous, knowing that the meeting was his fault – he had blabbed about her new, under-development jutsu to the Fifth Hokage. She began to tell the story of what happened, and went on to say how she suspected something big was just around the corner for herself. Shikamaru and Chouji listened on in intrigued silence.

* * *

End of chapter twooooo!

Dont' forget to review, and a special thanks to all the reviews I got for the last one. I can't remember your usernames (errr...) but I honestly would have dropped the story if nobody showed any interest. SO THANK YOU. A WHOLE LOT.

So, what about it, should I pop Drunken Kiba in the next chapter, just for the heck of it? We need more humour, no?

And if some words seem to be funnily spelt (ex., Colour, Calibre) please keep in mind that I'm Canadian, so therefore some of my words are spelt different than the American spellings. ... yeah.


	3. Way to go, Kiba, you lost your dog

Grar… sorry that it took me forever to get to this. School and such, y'know? Either way, I blame society XD I wanted to write this on Friday, but between school, work, and lazertag (eehehe...) I had no time. And on Saturday I was too busy with working, lawn mowing, burning things and getting drunk. On Sunday I had church, then I had to go to my sister's (er… brother's?) house for a barbecue and a nice big bonfire (more burning, w00t!)… I attempted to get drunk, and to drunken box with my drinkin' buddy (neither of which worked), and on Sunday I slept in and… … bummed around on the internet all day. Oh, I did go to the barn though. … … So as you can see, my weekend was so TRAGICALLY busy.

BACK TO FANFIC-ING I PROMISE EEEE. -hides-

Dis-claim-orz: I do-n't ow-n Na-ru-to, else Mi-zu-ki wou-ld not ha-ve bee-n j-ust a mi-nor char-ac-ter. (no, I'm not still drunk. I just like hyphens!)

P.S. – I have something special in this chapter for all y'all, for waiting OHSOPATIENTLY while I partied on this awesome holiday weekend (yay Canada! Yay may 2/4!). Well, actually, two something specials. One is plot development. The other is, well… -chuckles crazily- Juuuust reeeaaad and seeee! (Team 8 fans/Kiba fangirls, you might like this.) Ohwait. There'sthree. TENTEN. EEEEE.

* * *

A silver disk floated in the indigo-black velvet of the sky, and little sparkles twinkled and danced around it. This disk – or rather, the moon – illuminated well in its sickly light the land below. Being a beautiful Friday night, Konohagakure was alive with noise, lights, and laughter. It was on the better part of eleven o'clock, though, so the Ino-Shika-Chou formation's little dinner had to end, as the restaurant had closed up for the night.

"I'm hungry," Chouji mumbled from Ino's right, rubbing his rotund belly.

"Chouji, we _just_ left. Can you hold out ten minutes until you get home?" Shikamaru complained back, from Ino's left.

Ino just smiled as the two bantered on. This was how leaving their hangout place – that restaurant – usually ended. Chouji would get hungry again, one of his teammates would scold him, and the conversation would continue.

"I know, but I'm still hungry…" Chouji mumbled, in what may have been a bit of shame.

…Just like that. Ino and Shikamaru would always leave full, and Chouji would always leave hungry – even though he would eat much, much more than the other two combined. It had felt good to go out with them tonight. They didn't get to get together much anymore. Ino's smile dipped to a frown for a moment. Both male members of the team were jounin now, and very busy with their own lives and missions. Sometimes, though rarely, the Ino-Shika-Chou formation would be sent on a mission together; and normally with stunning success. Of course, Ino was still just a chuunin, so said missions did not occur often.

"It's only three blocks 'til we reach Ichiraku. If you can hold out until then, I'll buy you a bowl of ramen."

"Nhnn… make it two?"

"What? No…"

"In that case, I'm still hungry."

Shikamaru sighed. "Fine, fine, two it is. You're so troublesome, Chouji…."

Ino fought back a giggle. Ah, her friends were such losers. ….In a good way. She realised she had fallen back a pace or two. She smiled broadly, and made a quick, long step. In the same motion, she hooked her left and right arms around Shikamaru and Chouji's necks, respectively. She slumped between them. The lazy one grunted in surprise, and the caught-off-guard food-fanatic nearly fell over.

"I'll buy his ramen." Ino nodded, smiling up at them both. She half-dragged half-stepped in order to walk, as she had so much weight on her teammates (whom of which just continued walking) that they just seemed to drag her along.

"Ino?" Chouji asked, mildly surprised. She had been very quiet the whole walk until now, and she was acting more friendly than usual. She just grinned in return.

Shikamaru just raised an eyebrow at her, then shook his head. "Can't complain, I guess." He muttered. Ino smiled wider, her face now enveloped by a rather goofy grin. Yep, her friends were losers all right. But, after all they had been through (including all they put each other through), they were just that – _friends._ No, no, they were more than that. Best friends? That term fit better, but it still didn't suffice….

Ino's thoughts were interrupted. "Hic! A-Ano saaaAAAAaaa…" someone mumbled in a cracking voice. It was followed by a fit of giggles. All of Team Ten stopped, raised their eyebrows in mild surprised, and looked up. Before them, hanging off of a heavily clothed boy, was none other than Inuzuka Kiba. His hair seemed a little more messy than usual, and he seemed to be in a state of disarray. Ino unslung herself from her teammates, standing straight up. She regarded him sceptically.

"Ano… what's wrong with him?" Chouji blinked.

Shikamaru remained silent. The man carrying him, who I forgot to mention earlier was Aburame Shino, grunted in agitation as Kiba slipped from his lean on the bug-hosting nin. Shino just heaved him back up.

Ino's nose curled. She knew that smell. "He's drunk." She answered Chouji's question blandly.

Kiba snorted, then giggled, "Ano saaa," Kiba repeated, breaking free from his teammate and stumbling towards the bemused trio.

"What a drag…" Shikamaru muttered. "What do you want, Kiba?"

Shino didn't make a move for the dog-using shinobi; he just crammed his hand in the pocked of his black coat. Ino wondered, for a moment, why he wore those dark shades during the night, even if it was a bright one….

"H-have… hic… have you seen… uuuuuh… ShhhiiiiIIIInnnOOOO," He cried, turning around and nearly falling over.

"What?" Shino snapped in a monotonous way (he got skillz), obviously annoyed.

"Whadd're we lookin' for ag'in? Hic."

Shino sighed in an exasperated manner. "Akamaru."

"OOOH, riiii't!" Kiba slurred. He spun to face Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji again. "Have you seen… ano… …er… … AAAH!" He suddenly screamed. His slit-pupiled eyes flew open, and he jumped, looking around frantically. Team ten screamed back in surprise, eyes bugging out of their heads. Shino's eyebrow twitched.

Kiba spun to face his hooded teammate. "Shino, Shiiinooo! I think… hic… I THINKILOSTAKAMARRUUUU!" He screeched, looking frantically for his rather large dog. He even went as far as to open his leather jacket, and peer inside of it.

Shino sighed. "Hai, hai, I know, we've been looking for him for the last _hour_, baka."

Ino looked to a confused Chouji, and then to an unamused Shikamaru. "Uhhh, we better get going," she said quickly to Shino, "Chouji-kun is hungry."

Shino nodded as the blonde kunoichi grabbed her friend's arms, and dragged them past the rambling, confused, drunken Kiba, and the annoyed, babysitting kikaichu host. "If we see his dog, we'll let you know." She told him briskly.

Shino shook his head. "That won't be necessary. Akamaru is with Hinata-san."

Ino stopped dead in her tracks, and the Akimichi and Nara behind her ploughed clean into her (though miraculously, she didn't fall over). "You know where he is?!" she practically screeched. "Then why don't you tell Kiba?!"

Shino turned to face her. "He's the one that left him there. He knew he would be drinking and he didn't want to expose his dog to that."

Ino blinked. Shikamaru asked, "Then why don't you at least tell him that Akamaru is safe and sound with Hinata?" He asked the annoyed Aburame.

"Simple," he replied, turning back to Kiba, who was now sobbing wildly, "This is entertaining."

All three shinobi stared blankly. "Riiiiight…." They replied in unison.

"We have to get going, bye!" Ino said. Sweatdropping a little, she shoved her teammates along down the road. "That guy is weird…" she muttered when they were in the clear. She removed herself from behind her teammates, and placed herself, once again, at a walking pace between them.

"Yeah," Shikamaru agreed, nodding. "I coulda swore that he was pissed off."

"… I'm still hungry," Chouji interjected. Ino laughed. Yep, just another normal night with the Ino-Shika-Chou formation.

* * *

The Yamanaka kunoichi and another woman, with brown hair tied back in two neat buns, stood patiently inside the Hokage's office. Ino had met Tenten on the way to the tower, and with a little shared conversations discovered the brunette weapons mistress was headed to the same place she was. The two shared the walk, chatting aimlessly all the while.

But here they stood now, Tenten relaxed and casual, her hand holding securely onto the strap of a large scroll on her black-clad torso. She was the living definition of confidence, and right now, Ino envied that. She envied it so because she, herself, was currently quite nervous. It didn't take a trained ninja to figure that out. Her hands were folded in front of her, gently touching the purple fabric of her skirt, her fingers fidgeting and prodding at each other.

"Ah, good, you're both here. Ohayou, Tenten-san, Ino-san." Tsuande said, strolling into her office. Tenten smiled and waved, and Ino nodded in greeting. The Hokage brushed past the two and took her seat behind her large, oak desk.

"Now," she said, stretching and yawning. "I've got a lot of paper work so I'm going to make this quick." She turned her head, cracking her neck soundly. Ino flinched at the noise, only because she was so goddamned nervous.

"Tenten."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama?" She asked happily, straightening up in the presence of her idol.

"I've been keeping an eye on you and I think you're ready for a promotion."

"Promotion?" Tenten's brown eyes blinked, as though the jounin did not understand.

"Hai, promotion. There's an ANBU exam starting on Monday, and I want you to take it."

Ino didn't know how it was possible, but the already cheery kunoichi just got about ten times happier. "Oh, yes!" She said, clenching her fists and smiling broadly, bowing in thanks. She began to wriggle a little, barely being able to contain her excitement. "I'll gladly take part in the ANBU exam! Arigatou!" She replied, bowing again in thanks.

The Hokage merely chuckled then gave a little wave. "Yes, yes. Your teammates tipped me off that you've been training hard and waiting a long time for this." Tsunade shrugged, leaning back comfortably into her large office chair. "And I took that hint, because I honestly believe you can pass that exam. I would fill you in on details, but I suppose Neji-kun could do that. So thank your team, not me."

'_That's right,' _Ino thought, '_Hyuuga Neji is an ANBU captain already. And now… now Tenten-chan is as good as ANBU.' _Her face darkened into a nervous frown. _'And I'm still a measly little chuunin.'_

"As for you, Ino-san," Tsunade said, her serious mood returning. She folded her hands, rested her elbows on her desk, and leaned her mouth against her hands. This was an all too familiar pose to both kunoichi present, one that meant business of utmost importance. "Do you remember Morino Ibiki?"

"Morino… Ibiki…?" She asked, confused. Her brain was refusing to process anything. Damn, damn, damn, she was too nervous. Her stomach felt all clenched up now, too.

"The chuunin exam proctor?" Tenten asked, looking curious. Ah, that was right! He was that big, scarred up guy that was the proctor for the first stage of the chuunin exams – the written test. Tsunade nodded.

"Hai, I know who he is." Ino finally managed to respond.

"Ah, good." Tsunade cocked her head to the side, and a smile peeped out from behind her hands. "How would you feel about training under him?"

It took Ino a few minutes to think. Those few minutes seemed to be hours to her, but she finally stammered something out. "I-isn't he a… a tokubetsu jounin? Specialising in torture?" Ino was a prime example of confusion. Why would Tsunade-sama think she – of all people – was fit for TORTURING people?

Tsunade shook her head roughly. "Nononono…"

"He's the head of Konoha's interrogation unit," Tenten explained, casting her soft brown eyes on Ino, "Torture does fall under his jurisdiction, but he's primarily just an interrogator. If I remember correctly…" she said, looking up and tapping her chin in thought, "he specialises in the mental breakdown of people, not the physical."

"Exactly." Tsuande closed her eyes and grinned broadly. "Yamanaka Ino," her face hardened into a forceful, serious (almost scary) mask. "I want you to consider the apprenticeship of one Morino Ibiki, a toku jounin for Konoha's interrogation department, and the eventual rise to the rank of toku jounin, specialising in the same area. Do you accept?"

Ino stood in shock. The world around her was one of glaring light, dulled sounds, and since she couldn't breath, atmospherelessness. She had been expecting a promotion of some sort, but she hadn't expected this. What was she going to answer? Should she answer yes, or no? Her previously numbed mind spiralled into a chaotic realm of whirling thoughts and lack of direction.

"Easy there," the fifth Hokage chuckled, seeing Ino's utter lost look. "You don't have to answer today. You're both dismissed.

Ino didn't move. Tenten bowed. "Arigatou, Godaime-sama!" She said cheerily. She gently prodded Ino, then took the numb girl by the arm. "Goodbye!" She called to the Hokage on her way out. She gently pulled a still-confused Ino along out the elaborate double-doors. Her blue eyes were blank and wide, staring around as though she had just woken from a coma and had amnesia. Was any of what just happened real?

The weapons mistress led her out of the tower. By that time, Ino had considerably recovered. "Tenten-chan?" She asked.

"Mm?" Tenten answered with a hum.

"Do you… do you think I should take up Tsunade-sama's offer?" Her brow furrowed in confusion and over-thinking, as she stared at the kunoichi in the black Chinese shirt, with floral decorations.

Tenten grinned, cocked her head to the side, and nodded. "Hai! I think it would be good for you, Ino-chan. And though tokubetsu jounin is technically a lower rank than jounin, it's a position that seems to get a lot more respect. And instead of worrying about hard, long missions, you just get to go with missions that require your specific skills – you only really need a few talents, and you don't need to spend a whole whack of time honing your other skills." She sighed, almost wistfully. "It seems a lot easier and a lot less riskier than ANBU, don't you think?"

Ino nodded. What Tenten had said made sense. It was a logical choice, that probably anyone would pounce on if giving the choice.

A few moments of silence later, and the two kunoichi parted ways. Tenten bid Ino good-bye and told her to think it over for a while, and the blonde Yamanaka said farewell to the brunette soon-to-be-ANBU and wished her luck on the exam (though she probably didn't need it).

Ino looked to the clouds on the way back. Shikamaru had once mentioned envying the clouds, for they were carefree and taskless. Ino wondered now, for a moment, just what it would be like to be a cloud – unplagued by thought, unplagued by important decisions….

* * *

I'll beat you with a stick if you didn't like it.

I jest! XD Please review?


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